Bicycle rental systems include several rental/docking stations located in different parts of a city that allow a user to rent, pick up, and return a cycle. To prevent theft, the docking stations include a locking mechanism to lock the cycle to a dock, post, or other fixed structure between rental periods. When a user wishes to rent a cycle from a docking station, the user is required to provide some form of payment or identification to validate the rental and unlock the cycle. When the rental is complete, the user returns the cycle to the docking station where the cycle is again locked via the locking mechanism.